Oh fuck not Sensurround! lol I remember seeing Earthquake in a theater equipped with that when I was a kid. It felt like you were sitting in a room next to a malfunctioning massage bed with a screwed up stereo screaming at you. God I'm still amazed I didn't throw up amongst all that. Good thing I was too young at the time to realize how cheesy Heston's performance was in it - I'm sure that would have put me over the edge.

Oh fuck not Sensurround! lol I remember seeing Earthquake in a theater equipped with that when I was a kid. It felt like you were sitting in a room next to a malfunctioning massage bed with a screwed up stereo screaming at you. God I'm still amazed I didn't throw up amongst all that. Good thing I was too young at the time to realize how cheesy Heston's performance was in it - I'm sure that would have put me over the edge.

Sensurround and smell-o-vision and 3D! the old style red and blue 3d!

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Whoever they pick, they need to make a decision soon if they want any hope of releasing this thing before 2013

They have bigger problems than picking the director if they want to get the movies out by then.

Outside of the MGM financing issue, all signs indicate they will be ready to start filming by the end of this year. Del Toro moved to New Zealand back in 2008; pre-production has been going on since. That puts the first film in theatres by the end of 2012 or so.

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Roger: And you should know, I have no genitals.Syndey: That's alright. I have both.

Whoever they pick, they need to make a decision soon if they want any hope of releasing this thing before 2013

They have bigger problems than picking the director if they want to get the movies out by then.

Outside of the MGM financing issue, all signs indicate they will be ready to start filming by the end of this year. Del Toro moved to New Zealand back in 2008; pre-production has been going on since. That puts the first film in theatres by the end of 2012 or so.

The MGM financing issue is what I'm talking about. If that doesn't get resolved soon, we may not even see a Hobbit movie, at least not for a long while.

The MGM financing issue is what I'm talking about. If that doesn't get resolved soon, we may not even see a Hobbit movie, at least not for a long while.

Obviously. However, if they are trying to find someone to replace Del Toro right away it indicates they have a high confidence in getting that resolved. If they aren't going to be filming until next year at the earliest, they don't need to hire a director ASAP.

My fear when Del Toro walked away was that it was because he knew that filming wasn't going to be starting anytime soon so any indication of quick movement on replacing him is probably good news.

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Yesterday, the British newspaper The Sun ran a story saying that Martin Freeman (a.k.a. Tim from the original U.K. Office) had to decline an offer (and seven-figure payday) to play Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit movies due to a scheduling conflict: The actor was already committed to shoot the BBC series Sherlock, in which he plays Dr. Watson.

That’s all true, but according to sources close to the Hobbit production, it’s not over yet. New Line and MGM, the studios backing the Hobbit films, have since come back to Freeman with a proposed schedule that would allow him to shoot both projects. All parties are currently negotiating a deal.

Obviously the money sounds great, though I guess it's anyone guess whether Freeman truly wants to become a Movie Star, and commit to however long the Hobbit films would require him to be in New Zealand for filming. It sounds like he's game.

Now that Jackson seems willing to direct, if Freeman's signed up, they should be in relatively good shape, regardless of MGM's financial disarray. It's a shame they can't work out the international rights to The Hobbit to get it out of MGM's hands, which is why it has to be a co-production with both New Line and MGM.

You could say, "there's too much money to be made internationally," and that's why (I'm over simplifying, but basically it's true) New Line can't tell MGM to go "stick it" and make The Hobbit on its own, and just release it in the U.S.

I think it'll get made. now whether or not it turns into one of those disasters that goes through different directors/cast/scripts in the process due to the studio meddling to maximize profits is another story.

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Martin Freeman would not be a bad choice at all for Bilbo, even if he did star in that disastrous "Hitchhiker's Guide" film.

As for the movies actually getting made, there has been some movement on the MGM front. My real concern at this point is that they are going to end up with some impossible scheduling conflicts wherein someone significant can't make it work and they end up recasting a role.

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Roger: And you should know, I have no genitals.Syndey: That's alright. I have both.

Sahara India looks for buying MGMIndia Blooms News ServiceWashington/Lucknow, Sept 21(IBNS) The American movieworld, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, if things go right away, will be an Indian property, as Sahara India Parivar has made a $2 billion bid to buy the cash stripped Hollywood studio.

“On mutual interest, discussions are on, but it is too early to comment on the issue ,” the Financial Times quoted the MGM as saying.

The Lucknow based conglomerate, which supports promoting cricket, hockey, and football in India, confirmed the interest on the Hollywood studio, which has about $4 billion liabilities.

If the move for takeover goes as per current negotiations between the MGM and Sahara India, this would be the second major Indian foray into Hollywood after Anil Ambani's Reliance Big Entertainment put in $825 million last July to rescue Stephen Spielberg's Dream works from Paramount Pictures.

MGM, a synonym of a roaring lion before its productions are screened, was launched in 1924, and produced classics like the Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind and many more.

The company, which is now virtually unworkable for its debts, recently received another extension on an agreement to put off interest payments on about $4 billion debt until October 29.

The studio is co-owned by the Broccoli family, producer of the James Bond movie series.

The Lord of the Rings director, who is the film's executive producer, said he may relocate to Eastern Europe if the row is not settled.

Australia's Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) has joined the Screen Actor's Guild and five other international unions in advising actors to boycott the film.

They argue actors may be employed on inferior non-union contracts which "provide no minimum guarantees of wages or working conditions".

In an open letter, Jackson condemned the MEAA's "threatening behaviour" which he claims is motivated by "money and power".

He said: "I can't see beyond the ugly spectre of an Australian bully-boy using what he perceives as his weak Kiwi cousins to gain a foothold in this country's film industry.

"They want greater membership, since they get to increase their bank balance."

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Jackson also filmed his screen adaptation of The Lovely Bones in his native country.

But now he says the industry is under threat.

"If The Hobbit goes east - east Europe in fact - look forward to a long, dry, big-budget movie drought in this country," he warned.

"We have done better in recent years with attracting overseas movies and the Australians would like a greater slice of the pie, which begins with them using The Hobbit to gain control of our film industry."

Jackson denied being anti-union and said he was angry "a tiny minority" of actors could potentially derail the project.

He claims the film would create thousands of jobs and pump hundreds of millions of dollars in the New Zealand economy.

MEAA assistant federal secretary Simon Whipp said the union was concerned actors involved in The Hobbit were not being offered standard contracts.

He said he wanted to work with the film's producers and had no interest in driving work away from New Zealand.

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The dispute is the latest problem to beset the adaptation of J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit.

It has still not been given the go-ahead by Hollywood studios New Line and MGM due to financial difficulties.

In May, Mexican-born Guillermo Del Toro quit as director due to production delays.

Jackson is widely expected to replace him although no official announcement has been made.

Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett and Andy Serkis are expected to reprise their roles for the two part prequel.

Work on the film was supposed to begin earlier this year but has now been scheduled for 2011.

The Wrap reports that MGM and Warner Bros. have reached a deal to officially start work on the highly anticipated prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy The Hobbit!

And here's the cherry on top of that nerd-gasmic sundae - Peter Jackson will direct the two part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved novel! According to the source, production will begin in February in New Zealand, bringing the crew back to the Middle Earth sets where the original trilogy was shot.

For fans of the film franchise and casual observers of this often heartbreaking tale of financial woes and flip-flopping talent, today's announcement is a major sigh of relief. If there never was a plan to adapt The Hobbit, there wouldn't have been such an outcry when the project went into jeopardy as a result of MGM's money troubles. People's hopes were drummed up only to be let down time and time again as one problem after another kept the film from rolling before cameras.